Mask Of A Phantasm
by The Moonlight's Marionette
Summary: Sirius experiences something strange his last night in Hogwarts. A mysterious house in the Forbidden Forest and deadly enigmatic girl.


The room is dark and still. Nothing moves except for the fluttering curtains in the night breeze. The pale, blue light from the already rising half moon filters through the window, and falls on a willowy hand that hangs loosely off the bottom bunk to the left.

The fingers twitch every moment or so when the hand feels too restless, disturbing the beads of sweat that glisten on the inside of the palm.

Books are strewn all over the floor, clothes lie haphazardly over the bed, and various supplies are carelessly flung across the room, their usefulness at an end. Without school, and without the purpose of learning, the books and supplies that have contributed years of their worded knowledge have become shamelessly unimportant.

Sirius moves away the hand that lies across his eyes a little, so that he can see the underside of the bed above him. He stares at it intensely, running his eyes over the carvings of his initials that he made a sleepless night in his third year. He wonders if the next person to call this room home will lay on his bed and carve their own initials over his, completely erasing his mark from the school forever.

It is an interesting thought, one that he has never considered before. Why is he considering it now? His head throbs painfully; a sign of a headache to come. He knows he shouldn't think about it. Thinking about it only makes it worse. He should spend as much time as he can with his friends and he feels guilty for isolating himself like this, but his legs feel weak. Whenever he thinks about getting up and finding them, his body doesn't obey his mind. It never does.

He thinks about getting up and doing something so that the slow minutes wouldn't seem endless, and yet, he would be happy if they were. Happy if time stood still right at this moment or even rewound to his very first day to allow him the anticipation years to look forward to. Years that have passed.

Besides, there is nothing to do except to pack his trunk that remains pitifully empty under his bed. He doesn't even care if it does get packed. He won't need it after tomorrow would he? Another thing useless and no longer necessary like the books, the school robes and his secret stash of dungbombs.

There is a slight rapping on the door before it is forcefully shoved open, exposing him to warm light and the happy voices that pour in after. He slowly withdraws his hand from over the bed and rests it on his stomach, and covers his eyes a bit more with the other.

"Moony, why the hell are you knocking? This is_ our_ room," Peter points out dryly, while James retracts his extended foot.

Sirius stiffens at the stressed word.

Through a partially covered eye, he can see Remus rolling his eyes. "No, really? I just thought you know…Sirius might want a little privacy. You do know such a word exist, don't you?"

"Never heard of it," James replies quickly. "Right, Sirius?"

All three of them clamber in a little awkwardly, bottles in hand and faces a tad bit too cheerful. Even Remus' face looks somewhat flushed; he had no doubt given in after a lengthy bit of persuasion, Sirius thinks to himself.

They reach him. He knew they would. Pretending to be asleep is a far cry now, and even if he does, they would just wake him. A proud marauder would never be allowed to do an unnecessary thing such as sleep on a monumental night like this.

He easily slips on his mask and obligatory smile when Peter unceremoniously yanks back the drapes around his bed, drops down, and gives his feet a playful shove.

"What's wrong with you then?"

Sirius sits up. "Nothing. Can't a bloke get a little quiet? It's hard enough keeping up with you three."

"Are you serious?" James' eyebrows travel into his messy hair, apparently outraged by his friend's statement. Sirius can only manage a tight smile that he is very sure a watching pair of eyes detects.

"Mate, it's the last day of school and you want 'peace and quiet'? Blasphemy! Pete, check his temperature."

Peter places a small hand under the hair that hangs into Sirius' face, and onto is forehead obediently. "Well…he doesn't have a fever…."

"Hmm, must be something internal then." James crosses the room- being careful_ not_ to avoid the items on the floor- and drops down beside Sirius. Remus then takes a seat on the opposite bed and looks at Sirius curiously when their eyes meet.

"Lumos." James holds Sirius' eyelids open and spots his wand into his grey irises. Sirius pushes him away and rubs his watering eyes. "Prongs!"

Peter roars with laughter and eventually, James joins in. "Merlin, you nearly blinded me! Don't be stupid, I'm fine," he says a little irritated.

"Then why are you up here all alone?" Remus asks quietly.

"Well honestly, I…was getting a bit of a headache, so I came to lie down."

"Did you take something for it?" James asks a little more seriously, draining the last contents from his bottle.

"Yeah, yeah."

"Good, because the marauders have to embark on one last expedition."

"Sirius raises a skeptical eyebrow.

"We have one more mystery to solve."

"What mystery?"

James smirks at Peter, who winks at Sirius, who looks at Remus who shakes his head.

"Is someone going to tell me what your talking about?"

"Show him, James," Peter urges finally.

James reaches into the pocket of his robes and takes out a folded parchment. "Come on, Moony."

Remus gets up and joins them on Sirius' bed. James smiles and taps the parchment with his wand, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Sirius looks closely as the Marauder's map- a culmination of their hard work and nightly explorations- reveals its contents. He wonders what will happen to it now. They have yet to discuss it, in fact, they have not discussed anything.

"See anything out of the ordinary?"

Sirius examines the numerous moving black dots. "What am I supposed to be looking for, exactly?"

"This."

Remus points a finger to the edge of the map, outside the school and well into the forbidden forest. Sirius raises an eyebrow at the small shape that looks like a small hut.

"What is it?"

"Dunno. We were looking through the map and it just…appeared."

"But, what would a house doing in the forbidden forest," Sirius asks out loud.

James, Peter and Remus exchange looks, "That's what we want to know as well."

Sirius exhales loudly. He knows what's coming next. "No, this doesn't seem like a good idea."

"Can you even hear yourself?" Peter and James look stunned and Remus looks beside himself.

"No offence Sirius, but you sound like me," Remus chuckles.

"So you approve this?"

"Well-"

"Yes he does, so imagine how that makes you look."

"I think I take offence to that."

"No you don't Moony. Padfoot, this will be like our last great adventure. What's with you tonight? It's not like you to pass up something like this." James' brows are knitted together in confusion and his voice sounds like that of a wounded animal.

Sirius balls his hands into fists tightly. He cannot do this to James. Both Peter and Remus watch him expectantly. If he refuses he will only succeed in spreading his bad mood and ruining their last proper night together.

So with a heavy sigh, he nods his head and smiles brightly.

"All right men. Let's move out while the night is still young."

James' face is bright again and they all cheer. "Nice to have Padfoot back," he says quietly while squeezing Sirius' shoulder.

Peter gets up and rummages through the mess on the ground, until he has a cloak hanging off his index finger.

"Let's go."

He hands Sirius the cloak and waves them goodbye. They set off through the common room and out the portrait hole. James adjusts the Head Boy badge on his chest and Remus and Sirius keep a steady pace behind him as they walk.

When they reach the large oak doors in the great hall, they find them partly open and slip through easily.

Sirius slips the invisibility cloak over them with difficulty. He never before realized just how big they've gotten. They only need it until they are a safe distance away from the castle so it will have to make do.

They crouch down and walk briskly, laughing quietly occasionally at their cleverness. Sirius only smirks. Peter is waiting for them at the edge of the forbidden forest and he smiles brightly when he glimpses their exposed ankles.

"Took you long enough," he says when they reach him and throw off the cloak.

"Yeah, yeah." James responds, waving him away.

Remus stands with his hands at his sides and looks up the length of the trees. "This place is so beautiful. Cant believe we wont be coming in here any more," he says thoughtfully.

Sirius shoves his hands in his pockets and pushes past them, "Let's just go already," he mutters irritably.

The others exchange looks but chalk his strange behavior up to his 'headache'. Sirius walks through the trees quickly to put some distance between them but he can still hear their footsteps and idle chatter.

_Come to me…_

The air is cold on his face and his brisk walk slows into a stroll. He can't help but notice the beauty of the forbidden forest that he has either ignored, or not noticed for years. The moonlight peeps through the branches and falls on leaves that cushions his feet.

The others talk and laugh behind him, map open and trying to read in the semi-darkness, not conscious of Sirius' lack of need for direction. His steps are confident and knowing and had the others been clear-headed, he would have had a need to hide it.  
_  
Come to me…_

A sudden darkness descends around them as they delve deeper into the forest, where the trees are tightly packed and allow no moonlight in. They squeeze themselves between trees silently until Peter starts to whimper.

"Guys, this doesn't seem like such a good idea anymore. I mean, there are all sorts of things that live in here."

"Shh, we've been in here a million times before, wormtail," James whispers harshly.

"I know but-" He doesn't finish his sentence. The darkness lifts abruptly and they find themselves facing a small glade with an old looking house in the center. The boards are rotten and old shutters slam and creak in the wind.

_Come to me…_

They stand in an awed silence, half curious, half suspicious. What could an old house be doing here? How has no-one never noticed it before?

As if reading their thoughts, Remus asks, "Why have we never noticed this before? It looks like it's been here forever but we've been through here?"

Sirius is the first to move and step away, taking large strides over to the dilapidated front entrance.

"Sirius, wait!" someone says behind him.

"What? You guys wanted to explore didn't you? Well now were here, lets explore." He has a hard time keeping his tone in check and bites his tongue uncertainly. Fortunately or unfortunately, his friends were never the type of people who got thrown off or offended by some of his harsh words.

_Come to me…_

They creep closer behind him, taking care to make as little noise as possible. A smile comes to Sirius' face at their ridiculousness and he laughs quietly.

"It's okay, no need to sneak."

"How do you know? Who knows what's inside waiting to tear us to pieces!?" Peter shrieks.

"Never the brave one, are you wormtail," he says with amusement.

Sirius turns around and moves to the door, but stops almost instantly. He narrows his eyes at the door. It looks no different from its usual air but he could have sworn he had seen something flutter briefly, like a curtain.

_A curtain? Padfoot, get a hold of yourself. Must be a trick of the wind or something._

"Sirius is everything okay?"

"Yeah."

He shakes his head thoroughly. His body feels strangely paralyzed. He tries to out stretch a hand, but it moves slower than normal. The wind picks up and whips through the trees with sudden violence.  
_  
Come to me…_

He stays frozen to his spot. The wind calls him. Beckons him inside. He must go inside mustn't he? Go back inside. Remain inside. Then why does his body resist?

_Come to me…_

Does the wind really call him? Or does it warn him. His long fingertips brush the wood and the shutters bang loudly. The wind whips leaves and dust around them.

"What the-"

Sirius' hand trembles. Maybe this isn't such a good idea. His hand slowly drops to his side and the wind ceases. He blinks rapidly, still staring at the door. Everything is still. He breathes out.

Nothing moves. The wind has completely stopped. None of the trees move. There are no noises. His friends don't even whisper the tiniest sound. It is all too eerie. He glances back at them. Peter looks about ready to wet himself. James looks panicked and Remus is scanning their surroundings uncertainly. Running a hand above his brow, he realizes that he is sweating.

He is about to suggest that they go back to up to the school, when a searing pain slices through his head making him feel nauseas and dizzy at the same time. It feels like his head is being sawed in half at an excruciatingly slow rate. He screams. The pain almost brings him to his knees. His trembling hands clutch at his hair and his breathing is a quick pace.  
_  
COME TO ME NOW…_

Without warning he roughly kicks the door in sending it slamming into the wall behind it and making half of it shatter. He places one foot in, but before his body can follow, his head begins to feel light. His eyes roll back into his head and the world tips sideways.

The last thing he can hear is loud footsteps behind him and voices calling his name. He feels hands pressing into his back and he falls backwards, his body feeling to heavy for him to control. Someone wipes away his hair that is splayed in front of his eyes but he doesn't know who.

The last thing he sees through clouded eyes, is something white floating towards him, before he falls into a pool of black.

{}

"Sirius…Sirius…wake up."

A voice floats through the darkness, pulling him through and bringing a stream of light with it.

Sirius…

"Yes?"

"Wake up, I want to see you. When will you let me see your eyes?"

A pain shoots through his skull but subsides almost instantly. His eyelids feel extremely heavy, but the will of something that wants them open gives him strength to open them.


End file.
